Dodo's here

Dodo's here
Originally uploaded by Gremlink.

Review: Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is not a book that you can easily get into, simply because Doctorow invents so many different concepts that it takes a while to wrap your mind around them. But once you understand the setting and the terms like Whuffie, deadheading, etc, you start to enjoy the story. In that sense, it is quite a progressive and enjoyable novel. Overall, to me, the key to the story is the concepts and the settings rather than the characters.

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Yummy dreamy burger time

Yummy dreamy burger time
Originally uploaded by Gremlink.

Review: The Bug

The Bug by Ellen Ullman


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Bug is a tale about a programmer's search for an elusive bug. It is also a tragedy in which the obsessive search for the bug parallels the breakdown of the programmer's real life relationship. What is so absorbing with the novel is the amount of detail and description of programming a software that's in the book, giving it an authentic and geeky feel. A certified geek novel.

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MobileRSS HD brings me RSS love

Ever since I got my iPad, I've been looking for a suitable RSS reader. I've tried the free Feeddler, Netnewswire, and Bulletin XL, none of them feels right. Since MobileRSS on the iPhone is my fave reader, I was hoping that the folks at NibiruTech would be able to bring their RSS goodness onto the iPad.

With the release of MobileRSS HD, my prayers were answered.

Just like the iPhone version, MobileRSS HD is feature-rich, fast, and perform superbly on the iPad. Syncing with your Google Reader account is fast. When your feeds are downloaded, navigation is nice and intuitive. All the features that you want in a RSS reader are here. You can sort your feeds by oldest or newest, you can navigate to webpages, you even get a little thumbnail next to the feed listing if there's a picture attached to a particular post.

Like all good iPad apps, MobileRSS works well in landscape mode. The design of the user interface is clean and functional. It may not be the most flashy and pretty RSS reader out there, but it works as a good RSS reader and in that area, it works great.

The standard features that you find on Google Reader are available here. You can Star, Keep Unread, Share, write a Note on each entry. You can also make use of the services like Twitter and Instapaper. If you really want a spartan reading experience, you can also opt to use the Google or Instapaper Mobilizer when you read the feeds.

Although I really love this app, I think there are some things that can be done better. If the interface can be made prettier, that'll be a good thing. That said, I'd prefer a spartan, speedy reader than a pretty but cumbersome reader. I also miss the left-right swipe navigation method of Feeddler, although the up-down swpie of MobileRSS still works as well.

Overall, I am really glad for the release of this reader. I've found RSS heaven here. Having used MobileRSS on the iPhone since its early days, I know that the developer made vast improvements to it. I have no doubt that the developer will also continue to improve this app. And I look forward to future improvements done to the app.

Review: I Kill Giants

I Kill Giants by Joe Kelly


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I Kill Giants is an impressive graphic novel. A bittersweet tale of a teenage girl, who's also a D&D geek, dealing with the impending lost of a parent succumbing to cancer. While there's a mix of fantasy and reality in the tale, the story is still grounded in the realities of life, and how one deals with life and lost. Done in black and white, the art is dynamic and simply quite fantastic. A must read.

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Review: Brownsville

Brownsville by Neil Kleid


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
It's unusual to read about a mob story featuring Jewish gangsters. But other than the unique story, the graphic novel has nothing much else going for it. The story gets confusing, characters get introduced without background and you get lots of names which makes the tale hard to follow.

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Plants becoming zombies

Plants becoming zombies
Originally uploaded by Gremlink.

This is why putting plants in the toilet is a bad idea.

Grilling of the fishes

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Review: Batman-Hong Kong

Batman: Hong Kong by Doug Moench


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This book appealed to me because of the involvement of Hong Kong artist Tony Wong. I remembered flipping through his Hong Kong comics when I was young, and his signature artwork is certainly evident here. Storywise, there's something here, but the execution is lacking. Good enough to read for the fusion of style, but not good enough to be anything beyond a novelty Batman story.

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Sharing good times

Sharing good times
Originally uploaded by Gremlink.

Remembering the good times

Remembering the good times
Originally uploaded by Gremlink.

Green tea Kit Kat from Japan

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FA Cup the non-conventional way

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Review: iPod, Therefore I Am

iPod, Therefore I Am by Dylan Jones


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book is not so much about the iPod, but about music, how the device changes the music listening experience, and also the author's personal journey through music and pop culture. If music is a big part of your life, this book is enjoyable and you can probably find the compulsive music collector and listener in the pages to be familiar.

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Review: Spider-Man: Blue

Spider-Man: Blue by Jeph Loeb


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Peter Parker/Gwen Stacy story has always been my fave tragic love story in comics. There's just something about the tragedy that moved me. Spider-Man: Blue is a retelling of that tragic story, but one that does not goes into the specifics of what happened. Instead, it focuses on Parker's reminiscing how he got together with the love of his life, and the other one whom he eventually married. The storytelling, together with the bold colourful art style, comes together to form a bittersweet tale that is beautiful and sad. By the time I reached the final pages, I am not ashamed to say that tears were welling up in my eyes. Lovely, brilliant, read it.

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Review: The Mists of Avalon

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
An epic retelling of the Arthurian story from female perspectives. Due to its length, it took me a while to finish the book. What struck me about this book is how Bradley manages to tie in all the snippets of the Arthurian legends and makes it her own. Unlike the knightly romance versions, this is a more down-to-earth retelling. In truth, none of the characters are truly good or evil, but they are just doing what they feel is right, which makes this retelling refreshing. This version is also about the struggle between paganism and Christianity and coming to terms of both sides. A truly satisfying read.

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Ooooh, a surprise!

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Milk candy with mint

Milk candy with mint
Originally uploaded by Gremlink.

Colleague bought this from Shanghai. Interesting to say the least.

Lisa Ono belts out bossa, jazz, Asian folk standards in an enjoyable set

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